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Monthly Archives: February 2010
In One End, Out The Other
This is a moment to remember: we finally leave the Red Sea, pass through the notorious Bab el Mandab and into the Gulf of Aden. A podcast for your listening pleasure.
How A Convoy Should Work
Here starts the convoy. This is a formation devised by Lo Brust, the rally organiser, to safeguard the boats as we began our journey through ‘Pirate Alley’ Although still in ‘safe’ waters Lo wanted us to get used to the formation as it was difficult to sustain, as we were to find out. This is where the arguments start…
Cowries, Turtles, Ospreys and Graves!
The moment we stepped ashore on Sadla Island our senses were on fire. Like something out of a Jules Verne novel this volcanic island was teeming with wildlife. These pictures are some of my favourite nature shots, especially the sunset ones. Make the most of these pics because from here on it the rally starts getting tough. The smiles will be replaced by grimaces as the fleet prepares itself for 700 miles of hell!
Sadla Island
Sadla Island, Eritrea. In this podcast we take a trip ashore and start by crossing the isthmus from the west towards the windward side on the east. We’re looking for turtles but we find a bit more than what we bargained for!
Move! Move! Now! Go!
The fact we were kicked off Mersa Dudo was a blessing in disguise for Sadla Island is an absolute gem. In fact those who had managed to get ashore on the first night waxed lyrical about its wonders on the evening net. Tony of ‘Full Flight’ and I arranged to go ashore early next morning as he had discovered nesting turtles on the eastern shore.
The Convergence Zone
The Convergence Zone. A place where the unforgiving seas force lesser men to give up and go home. This podcast begins with us leaving Freedom Bay and looking at problems on other boats in the rally. It ends, however, in Marsa Dudo with an analysis of a problem we encounter ourselves. This was a grueling hundred mile trip that should have been completed in 24 hours. It took much, much longer. Along the way Esper finds herself in a critical situation.
Fan Belts And Braces
Rested and eager to move on, Liz and I fell into the trap of believing that the next bit of the journey would be fairly straightforward, despite the headwinds. How wrong could we have been? I’ll give you a clue: very.
Avoiding Pirates
This podcast is an insight into a very important skipper’s meeting, held on board Mistral, the boat belonging to rally organiser Lo Brust. You’ll hear the lapping dinghies and gentle breeze in the background for authenticity.
This is a very important meeting as we discuss the convoy sailing tactics.
What I love about this podcast is the relaxed attitude we take to motoring into a few headwinds and the expectation of an easy motor sail to Marsa Dudo, 100 miles away.
Also listen out for the blase comment about the military not causing us any problems further down the coast. Needless to say we were kicked out of two anchorages by smiling Eritrean navy personnel.
The Adventures Of Mutley In Freedom Bay
In my last post on Massawa I made the bold statement that Eritrea was my fave country I have ever visited. This was due to a number of factors, not least the people. It’s anchorages like Freedom Bay, however, that make Eritrea a top spot for nature lovers and yotties. Freedom Bay was a large expanse of shallow water surrounded by incredible volcanic mountains. I suspect very few humans have ever gone ashore here. Even we only made it to one of the little islands and a spit of sand where I got some great shots of pelicans and ospreys. Another top anchorage and, finally, all the rally participants meet up together for the first time since Egypt!
Medicine Man
We leave Massawa and head to an anchorage called Ras Corali, 30 miles away. From hereon in, the direction of our progress becomes problematic. How do we head south east without motoring directly into wind?
And should we move at all when half the rally is going down with a mysterious illness? Still, we should be grateful we have the available medicines on board to cope with a fever, some people aren’t so lucky.
This podcast captures a few yotties discussing passage plans in between diving under the boat to scrape the prop and giving the locals some much needed medicine.
Medical Aid For The Locals
Time to say goodbye to the people of Eritrea. Unbeknown to us as we continued down the coast of this beautiful country we would no longer meet Eritrean people, save for a few fishermen. Some of us did meet a few more locals, who were in need of some medication.
Massawa In HDR
Massawa has some stunning architecture left over from the Italians who ruled for many years. Thirty years ago it was the first town to be liberated from Ethiopia and so many of these beautiful buildings were shot to pieces. Eritrea is, according to the UN, the second poorest country in the world. The buildings may be fine examples of architecture from long ago but the local people do not have the money to renovate their homes. Once these buildings fall down, that’s it, they’ll be gone forever.
Fenkle: Celebrating Eritrea’s Independence
We return to Massawa and Liz, bless her, went down with the nasty fever that was spreading amongst the yotties. It was a shame because she missed ‘Fenkle’, which was the 20th anniversary of Eritrea’s independence. We had originally been told that all foreign yachts were to have left Massawa before the president came to do his speech but we later learned that actually the town would like us to stay and celebrate with them. What an honour.